Ichigo gets thrown back
by plbo
Summary: Ichigo fights with Yhwach and thanks to one last sternritter is thrown back to the past. There will be a pairing in the future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone, this is my first attempt at any kind of fan fiction. Be kind please. Critics are welcome and I would love idea's to expand on my own.

I do not own Bleach.

The blade of reishi clashed with the two zanpakuto held in either of Ichigo's hands. Both understood that the battle would not be decided in these forms. The Quicy king, Yhwach knew that better than the child before him could imagine. After all, Ichigo Kurosaki was the only one he actually had to fear. That's why Yhwach wanted to end this as quickly as possible. He could feel the piece of himself that was no longer really him in the boy. If he could just make it flare, then the fight could be ended. Pushing at that part of the boy's soul, his power flared and as luck would have it the boy was gathering his reishi to attack! Never had Yhwach felt quite as…. Lucky before. His last sternritter, his one chance to remove the boy from the equation, sternritter C, the capture. A simple power his ability to capture his opponents reiatsu and keep it locked in time, much like some forbidden kido to stop time, would keep the boy stuck until a method of dealing with him could be created.

As the boy released the attack charged in the form a blade being pushed forward was intercepted by the last sternritter. Ichigo for his part can see that a new player has entered the field, but at his current level he feels no fear. Until everything stops and becomes sluggish.

_'What the hell?!_' Ichigo can feel everything seem to stop, "What is this?"

The words cause a look of supreme concern to cross the unknown sternritter's face and the King asks one simple question "Is the boy to powerful for this to work?"

That's when they felt it, a sucking motion where the time cage just was. Both were confused because where the boy had just been, was nothing.

_'What the hell happened?' _Ichigo thought as he rose from the ground. Looking around he established two things. The first, this was definitely the Seireitei, not the Royal Realm he was just fighting in. The second, and more disturbing was that the Seireitei was not destroyed, there were no traces of the quincy anywhere, and he could see that the squad twelve barracks where not a weird research facility, it was like all the other barracks.

Something had definitely happened.

"Halt! State your name and squad!"

Ichigo turned to see something that he never would have imagined. He was looking at a Vice-Captain that he had no knowledge of who happened to look almost exactly like him. _'Who is that? Don't I know all the current Vice-Captains?' _Ichigo answered even though he wasn't sure what was going on however.

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Soul Reaper. Who are you?" The man eyed ichigo like he was crazy.

"Kaien Shiba, Vice-Captain of the 13th squad. I know I'm new but the 13th manages substitute soul reapers and the only one we had went missing ages ago. So really, who the hell are you?"

Ichigo recognized the name, Rukia hadn't told him much but he knew Kaien was her old Vice-Captain that had **died** **20 YEARS AGO!** Ichigo burst out laughing. "Yhwach, I don't know what kind of illusion this is but a dead Vice-Captain won't make me lose my head!" Still looking at the sky after his outburst, Kaien slashed at him.

Having heard the outburst Kaien decided that this man who seemed like he was rolling in power, even though Kaien could feel nothing from him, was too damn crazy to let live. He expected Ichigo to never notice the attack. He thought he would be far too fast for that, and he was right Ichigo didn't notice, but the reason was because Kaien's blade bounced off and then the boy looked at him and asked with real confusion, "Did you attack me?"

Understandably, Kaien was floored. "How did you not get cut?!"

Ichigo looked at him with true confusion, _'If he was an illusion then surely he would be able to cut me.' _That's when Ichigo put it together, he wasn't under some kind of Illusion, he had been sent to the past. "No." He fell to his knees, "NOOOOO!"

"Oi, King why are you freaking out? If we have more time to train we can crush him without bankai, without having to use our full strength." Zangetsu burst into his crazed laugher at that.

_'But I'll be way too old to fight him now!'_

_"Ichigo, I don't think you understand, you will not age much at all."_

_ 'Why not, Old Man?'_

_"Ichigo, you have been dead since your soul chain was cut." _Ichigo was shocked but Old Man Zangetsu continued, _"I can feel the man I once was and I know his state of slumber. We have come back just over 100 years."_

Ichigo came back to reality and could see Kaien was worried. "My spiritual pressure is so high you can't feel it. If you could, at your level it would kill you." The look of disbelief that ran across the man's face was priceless. "I'm going now, out of the Seireitei. I'm not going to come back so if you could just forget about me that would be great."

With that Ichigo moved away at the insane speed Zangetsu allowed him to travel at. _'Where can I go? If I contact anyone I might change the future…. I'll go to the ravine I fought Aizen in. I'll build a shelter there and train.' _

Meanwhile the confused Vice-Captain decided it would be best to never mention this to anyone. After all, if he really was that powerful no one but the Zero Squad would have any chance against him, and if he was so weak as to have no spiritual pressure…. Then not being cut would be impossible. So best not to tell anyone and pretend that that never happened.

At the Sekkiseki Wall Ichigo was expecting some issue but the giant gatekeeper Jidanbo to give him some trouble. However, the gatekeeper didn't seem to care that Ichigo was leaving, in fact he seemed almost bored that the gate dropped for a soul reaper leaving who didn't seem to be fleeing the law.

So Ichigo took off towards the hill he fought the second most dangerous battle he had ever fought. The Irony wasn't lost on him as he sat in the ravine ready to come up with a plan.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again everyone. I hope you all are enjoying the work so far. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the actual reviews. So if you see anything that isn't correct or would like clarification, just let me know. If you have any ideas on directions the story could go, even if I don't take the story that way, I'd love to hear them.

I do not own Bleach in any way shape or form.

Ichigo decided the first order of business was to figure out what Old Man Zangetsu meant by him being dead. So he sat in the classic jinzen position, with both blades across his lap. As Ichigo closed his eyes he felt a familiar sensation, when he opened them he was standing in the city that lay sideways. His inner world, the manifestation of his heart and mind. Across from him were the two spirits of his soul, the manifestations of his power that were both Zangetsu. "What did you mean I'm dead?"

Both the spirits looked away. The true Zangetsu looked at Ichigo, "Listen partner, we can't be accessed by a human… When Rukia gave you her powers it was like a limbo deal, still reversible."

"But I have been living life and aging normally!"

_"Ichigo… Before you recognized him as Zangetsu you were using Quincy powers in the form of a Soul Reaper. Now that you are a true Soul Reaper… Well your true body can be used as a gigi but it will decay. You will not age the same way anymore." _The Old Man looked sad, almost regretful.

Zangetsu walked over to Ichigo, _"I'm sorry, but you want the strength to protect people. Well it comes at a price."_

"Okay, so I'm fucking dead. GREAT! Whatever, bigger fish to fry right now," Looking at the Old Man, "You said we were 100 years in the past. I have 100 years until Yhwach wakes up and I fight him. What the hell do I do until then?"

"Listen King, you need to train! I still have so much to teach you about how to use me as a weapon. How to use your hollow powers! You could learn instant regeneration!"

_"Ichigo, now that you have time I can teach you all of the quincy techniques as well. And you can find a way to learn Kido." _The Old Man put his hand on Ichigo's shoulder, _"With as much knowledge as you could gain in one hundred years of training, the one I once was could stand before you for an instant."_

"Okay." Ichigo looked up he realized how close to a storm his inner world was, "First order of business is shelter and food though."

Ichigo awoke with a bit of a start. He set off to find a way to build a hut at the top of the ravine.

The city was not sunny by any means but the rain wouldn't fall while Ichigo knew he could make it. Knew he could maybe even make it so fewer people would be hurt when the Quincy attacked.

Ichigo knew as he looked over the forest one thing, he had no idea how do build a any kind of home. _'Great, what the hell am I supposed to do?' _

'King, join the academy. They might take someone as weak as you!' Zangetsu broke into a mad laughter at his little joke.

'Love to if I would seem so powerful that all of the Seireitei would instantly hear about me.'

_'I may be able to help. I do know of a seal the quincy would use to reduce a Soul Reaper to near powerless levels. With you Ichigo it would reduce to the level of a 10__th__ seat. If you held back well enough, no one would ever have to know you were that powerful.' _

Ichigo considered this, if he joined the academy then he could learn Kido. He could also train with Zangetsu, although any Quincy or hollow training would have to hold off.

_'Ichigo, before you decide… This seal can only be removed by another Quincy. So if you were to do it you would need to find one willing to undo it.'_

'That won't be a problem. Uryu's father would be more than willing to stop the king.'

'He also hates Soul Reapers.'

'I'll deal with that when the time comes I guess… For now let's get the seal on me.'

_'Not so fast… You might want to get to the gate first, it's a long way off right now.'_

'Right, good call.'

Ichigo took off. When he could see the separation of the Rukon and Seireitei he stopped. It was then that he realized that he had no idea how to get into the academy. Not even the slightest clue where it was. 'Maybe someone else will know. What if they don't accept me right away? How in the hell will I survive without food if it takes a year to actually get in?'

_'Ichigo, if it takes time to get into the academy you will have to find work for food. With your power a body guard job would be easy enough to obtain for some noble family.' _

'Maybe… But if I do that won't it draw attention to me?'

_'Maybe; however that may be your only choice.'_

_'Who cares Kingy? A job as a body guard for nobles might actually be better.' _Zangetsu spoke with an odd seriousness to his tone_. 'Hell it'd be more time to train with me and the old man for your other powers.'___

Now that it had been said it was a serious thought in Ichigo's mind. After all, if he went through the academy he would have to limit himself just to learn Kido. If he didn't he could learn all the techniques Zangetsu could teach him. That would almost be more valuable than learning Kido. After all, it was a Quincy technique that got him stuck here.

_'Ichigo, I know nothing of a quincy ability that would combat the effects of a time lock. Though when the first wars started a thousand years ago, there were Kido spells that manipulated time. In those times Soul Reapers were brutal. The Getsuga Tenshou was once used by hire level Soul Reapers like a cero. In fact, to my understanding that is what it is based on.'_

'So Getsuga Tenshou isn't your ability?'

_'No it's fucking not!'_

_'Indeed Ichigo, it is a technique that could be used by any Soul Reaper with sufficient power. Many of the techniques used 1000 years ago are forbidden now. But if you were to find a way to gain access to them… Then you may find a way to combat the technique that forced you to end up here.'_

'Okay. Well I'll see what I can find out. But for the time being I think I stand out just a little much with you two released like this.'

_'No.'_

_'Don't be so harsh old man. He is our wielder. If he thinks he can seal us… Let him fucking try!'_

'So you to aren't going to help me with this at all?'

_'Give you one hint. It's the exact OPPOSITE of bankai!' _

With that, and that alone as his hint he understood that he had to draw his reiatsu in and not press in outward. However, he didn't understand how it could be the exact opposite of bankai. When he went into bankai he compresses his reiatsu. That's when he understood, the compression isn't part of the seal. Some zanpakuto are small, some are huge, but the seal is the wielder distancing themselves from the blade. The opposite of drawing closer the way he did when he went bankai or into his Final Getsu form. It would be the same feeling as when he went from bankai to shikai. With that in mind he felt his connection to Zangetsu, and he pushed it away from his consciousness.

He felt the change almost instantly the blades which were released became regular swords. Well his shorter sword was still the length of most released blades and the one across his back was as long as Tensa Zangetsu. Both handles were wrapped in a white cloth, quite a bit messier than most of the sealed zanpakutos he had seen sealed. But it would work.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello, thank you to all the reviews! I get it's not exactly cannon and Ichigo is more overpowered in this fic than cannon. That all has to do with the plot, in fact, I had no intention of making it even appear that he wasn't. But I will defend the fact that Kiaen couldn't feel him with a few examples from the manga. First, Kiaen wasn't anywhere near captain level. Second, everyone who has been shown not reacting to Ichigo due to his enormous spiritual pressure has been nowhere close to captain level. Third, everyone who has been shown to be able to sense Ichigo underwent special training to be super powerful. They are all above the level of the captains Ichigo fought during the first arch. Now if it had been Yamamoto he would have been able to sense Ichigo's power in much the same way Ichigo could sense Aizen's power when he infused with the Hogyoku. I would attest that Shunsui, Utaki, Unahonna, and many of the captains of the time would be able to snese his power in that same way. Someone who was a barely a Vice-Captain, because this is set right when he first became a Vice-Captain, would have been unable to.

The reasoning behind Ichigo's power being something other than Getsu is because it is shown to be used by his father, and possibly Urahara in the manga. More than that, several times it has been pointed out to be something similar to a cero. So I think that evidence was enough to lead way to a new power. The new power I'm toying with will be something different from most. It also comes from what I think were hints and for shadowing in the manga.

Gorgantuan- Thank you for the tips. I unfortunately have a hard time with slower pacing, now in the next few chapters which will start to really develop the plot should be slower paced.

Hachikonohime- this is just before they become visards and we will see what happens to Ichigo in the future regarding who he warns and who he saves. I wish I could explain where I see this going but it would give too much away.

Kika-Chan.5- Urahara is definitely that smart and insane.

So now onto the story….

Standing around realizing that he had no actual idea how to join the academy, what would happen to the future if he didn't lay low, and no idea how to survive if he decided not to join the academy, caused Ichigo to take a look at the few hours he had spent running around thinking he had a plan. He examined his plan, not thoroughly, because it had no substance. All he knew was that he had around 100 years to become strong enough to beat the Quincy King. He knew he had to either gain access to some kind of kido to stop whatever that quincy did to put him here in the first place, or become so powerful he can kill them before it works.

'With 100 years I might as well reach for both goals.'

But he did like Zangetsu's idea of finding some work until he knew more. The biggest problem was that he had no idea where he could go to find any work. Plus it was getting dark and he was fairly tired from all the running he had done today. From what he knew of the Soul Society, and how apparent it was becoming he knew almost nothing, this was one of the nicer and safer districts. Not exactly comforting but the knowledge that few beings would be able to actually hurt him out here, he decided to lay down in an alley and sleep. With the clear skies he didn't think the rain would bother him. With that thought he could feel the Old Man shudder and that jerk let lose a terribly grating laugh.

As he rested his head on the cold hard earth he could see the advantages of joining the academy. It would be a place to stay and food to eat. However, it would limit him. What if he changed the future? Could he make it so he wasn't born? Could he pass up the only place to learn kido? Those questions weighed on his mind but soon they drifted off into nothingness with the noise of everyone around him.

'What is the hell is the pressure here?'

Kenpachi Zaraki was right there. "I know whatever has this power is around here somewhere." A look of annoyance on his face, "COME OUT HERE AND FIGHT ME!"

Ichigo could only assume Kenpachi was referring to him. He knew he could take him on at his current level. The problem was they would destroy way too much if they fought here. Plus if Aizen happened to see it… Well that would be a major problem. Without knowing what would happen if he started interacting with people Ichigo thought it best to avoid it as often as possible. Especially against the captain of the 11th division. It would draw way more attention than he wanted.

That's when Ichigo realized Kenpachi was talking to him.

'…. Have a lot of power?!' The swing of his sword punctuated his point.

Ichigo brought up his average sized sword in his left to stop the blade bearing down on him and drew the one across his back. Swinging down, saying nothing he cut Kenpachi. It was shallow but it also swiped off the eye patch he was wearing. The next blow from Kenpachi was immensely more powerful.

Ichigo knew the blow would probably injure him. A direct hit from Kenpachi like that may even kill him. With these thoughts he reached out to Zangetsu. Without ever calling the name Zangetsu released. With the release of his blade in response to the swing the surrounding buildings were leveled. Kenpachi laughed his maniacal laugh.

"You are powerful kid. I'm gonna enjoy this fight!"

Kenpachi could not have been more wrong. To enjoy a fight one has to actually fight, and Ichigo would not be fighting him today. With a simple shunpo he appeared behind the insanely powerful captain and hit him as hard as he could over the head.

"Trying to knock me out? It'll take a lot more that!" The maniac was still laughing and made Ichigo go on the defensive when he tried the same move a second time. Ichigo jumped back knowing full well it would mean nothing, because as soon as he landed he was parrying the blow from Kenpachi with his larger blade. Stepping forward Ichigo head butted the captain as hard as he could.

Standing, dazed and most likely with a concussion Ichigo looked at the captain who was out cold and the destruction of the area around them. Ichigo began to think and before a coherent thought had time to form he blacked completely out.

Ichigo woke with a start. He was in the cavern he trained for bankai in. 'How did I get here?'

"How did you fight off Kenpachi with just a Shikai?" It was a voice Ichigo could never forget. The first woman who ever revealed herself to him, 'GAH! Not that infernal woman!'

He felt a blade at his throat. "Answers or I kill you. I've bound your spiritual powers so don't even think about trying to escape."

Ichigo saw Soifon standing off to the side. He could only think of one Mun. "HA!"

Soifon struck him as Yoruichi let him go. "Who the hell would believe that? Now answer Lady Yoruichi or die!"

"My name is relevant. Knowing it might change everything."

"If you refuse to answer me we will kill you."

"You want to know how I fought off Kenpachi, right?"

"Change of subject?"

"To a much less dangerous one."

Yoruichi seemed to ponder this, "If your name is so dangerous then isn't that what we should find out?"

"Not unless you want Aizen to kill us all."

"So you're not working for Vice-Captain AIzen?"

"I've said too much about that." Ichigo silently berating himself for his lack of control over that information, "I can beat Kenpachi at that level of power because I have more reiatsu than you can actually feel."

"No." Yoruichi seemed to dismiss this without even considering it. "So you won't give us any real answers over those questions. What do you know about Aizen?"

"I wish I could say. How about you tell me what you know and I'll fill in what I can without endangering too much."

"Why is the information in your head so dangerous?"

'**Answer that one atleast Kingy!'**

'I thought she sealed away my power?'

**'****We aren't exactly normal!'**

"I'm from the future. I don't want to screw up the timeline."

"Soifon, get Urahara."

"Yes Lady Yoruichi!"


	4. Chapter 4

Hello everyone, I'm glad people seem to be enjoying the story. Remember reviews are the only way I can clarify my logic or implement ideas from other people. So thank you to everyone who reviews. After you read through the extra part at the bottom. It's very important that you do or the whole story seems contradictory from the previous chapters and that wouldn't be good.

As to the reason for two updates today, I wrote the last chapter and in order to keep them both under 2,000 words I split them.

The woman in front of him looked down at him in a distrustful way. It hurt that someone he considered his mentor wouldn't trust him. Intellectually he understood that it didn't mean anything, she didn't actually know him yet. It didn't change the way he felt not being able to talk to one of the few people who he knew and trusted that had been born yet.

"If you're from the future then I need some proof. Tell me something only I would know."

"I never said I knew you then."

"You feel like you know me. No one would look at another person with that much hurt at being distrusted and questioned if you didn't."

"You can change into a cat."

"That's not a secret."

"You have a birth mark."

"Describe it, lots of people have them."

"It's on your… well it's on your…" Ichigo was beat red, "It'sonyourbutt!"

"Oh and what's it look like?" Yoruichi enjoyed teasing him, obviously not many people knew about the birth mark and if he had seen it then they must have been close.

"It's really light and… It's…" Ichigo took a breath to deepen his resolve, "It's shaped like a bird."

Yoruichi burst out laughing. She knew that there were only to ways he could know that. One was that he was a good enough to spy on her, impossible. The other was that he was telling the truth. That one should be impossible, but only she knew about Aizen's experiments. Even Soifon only knew he was to be watched. The way he casually said Aizen would kill them… It made her think he might not be lying.

"So I believe you're from the future. You obviously know me there, or is it then." Yoruichi considered that. Then she realized that this kid had seen her ass. 'Did that mean they were lovers in his time? No that couldn't be, she may have like the kids reaction but it wasn't that of a lover.' Yoruichi got close to Ichigos face. "So how do you know me that you've seen such an… intimate spot?"

"You trained me for a while."

Yoruichi seemed to want to know more but it was then that Urahara walked in with Soifon trailing close behind. Yoruichi then told him everything. Urahara had a slight smile on his face as he walked up to Ichigo, "So you won't tell us anything because you don't want to change the future." The gleam in his eyes was disturbing. It was like when Mayuri would ask Uryu to be a test subject. It was disturbing. "Just so you know kid, all the information we have on time travel says you can't actually change anything that effects your past."

"What if I don't want to risk it either way?"

"Then wouldn't existing at all be too risky?"

Ichigo had to hand in to Urahara, he was usually right. Besides if anyone could help him it would be these two. Urahara may actually be smarter than Aizen and Yoruichi was leading the stealth force. Once they get exiled we will have to part ways. 'I know I didn't meet myself so that means I better not be around for it.

"Ichigo, tell us about yourself." Yoruichi had gotten close again and was smiling in a very… overly friendly way. In a barely auditable whisper, "Avoid Aizen."

"What?" Confused, Ichigo always thought that these tow shared all the information they knew with each other, so why would Yoruichi want him to avoid the the… 'Wait, how does she know my name?!'

"I never said my name."

"It was on the note in your pocket. Thought it might be your name, looks like I was right."

'The note from Orihime to be careful, ironic that a note to be careful might have done something so dangerous. But if Hat and Clogs says it's okay then I might as well tell them.'

"Fine, I'm a substitute Soul Reaper from just over 100 years from now. I was sent back during a fight and I am going to survive to end that fight when it comes back up."

The three standing before him continued to look at him expecting more.

"Are you three just going to stand there or are you going to seal my spiritual powers and free me?"

Surprisingly it was Soifon who spoke up, "You speak casually to Lady Yoruichi, tell us a ridiculous story and then expect us to let you do as you please?" The twich of her eye expressed just how annoyed she was beginning to feel. It was the only outward sign she had any emotions at all.

"Soifon, lighten up. He's proven to me at least he knows me and since I had never met him yet he must be telling the truth." This confused Soifon just ever so slightly. Just before she expressed her continued distrust however Yoruichi continued on, "Unless you think a kid who couldn't hide from Kenpachi could get past you and I to spy on me."

Soifon had never heard such a ridiculous thing. No one could get past Lady Yoruichi. As far as she was concerned if it was either someone being able to get past Lady Yoruichi or coming from the future, only the later was possible. She immediately quieted down.

"So what will you do until that fight? One hundred years is a long time to wait Ichigo."

"Way to state the obvious Hat and…. Well I guess I can't call you that anymore… Or is it yet? Urahara, time travel is confusing. I didn't really have a plan, I thought maybe I'd join the academy and seal away my powers so that they didn't draw attention to me. But that might still draw to much attention to myself."

"If you joined the academy everyone would notice you unless you had really powerful seal."

"Well it would be the seal the Quincy used on Soul Reapers in the first war between them."

"What? Are you telling me you can use Quincy techniques?"

"Well I am part Quincy."

"Your soul should've committed soul suicide then."

"Being part hollow as well balances it out."

Soifon was reaching for her blade, she was ready to kill him when he mentioned being part Quincy, after the mention of being part hollow she knew she had to. Yoruichi gave her the look to continue to watch. She seemed wary even if she claimed to believe him fully.

"Well Mr. Ichigo, aren't you just full of suprises." Urahara had a look in his eyes like he couldn't wait to understand his powers.

'That's right, Urahara was looking for a way to create hollowification before Aizen was.'

"Maybe I am, but again, it'd be much easier to have this talk if I wasn't bound."

"It's easier to hide you with your powers sealed though. And if we let you use that Quincy technique the Head Captain would go on a rampage and kill all the remaining Quincy. It wouldn't be good." Urahara looked thoughtful at all he had learned about the boy. Ichigo couldn't imagine what was going through the man's mind.

"Kisuke, if he's so powerful we can only sense part of his reiatsu then maybe we should find out what he could do with his powers unbound so we can hide him properly."

The twitch was back in Soifons eye, "You can't seriously expect a boy strong enough to beat Kenpachi easily with hand to hand combat, but could only do it by knocking himself out, to properly fit in as a body guard to Lady Yoruichi."

"You're right Soifon, so why don't we train him?"

"Well… Lady Yoruichi… I don't think that would be very wise. I could kill him if we sparred in hand to hand combat."

"Hmm… Well if he dies then he obviously wouldn't be any good to the future so someone else can handle the fight. So if he accepts the risk we should train him." Yoruichi had a knowing smile on her face, "Of course if he's as powerful as he says it shouldn't be any trouble for him to take a few hints."

"That's great you guys are willing to train me, but to train I need to be let out."

So everyone, you may have some questions over why Urahara is telling Ichigo he won't change the future. Well common perception of time relies on a moving now. The issue with that is time and space are relative to perception. But we have nothing to compare time movement with. This issue created a theory on time called the tenseless theory (or block theory) that all of time-space exists at the same time. That means the past, present, and future are all simultaneously existing. That means time travelers wouldn't be able to change anything. This web site is where to find a better explanation: . /reality/reality_block_


	5. Chapter 5

4 months later

Ichigo had been training nearly every waking hour under the two masters of hakuda. Soifon, who was nowhere near as skilled as Urahara and Yoruichi, managed to teach him much as well. What he didn't realize was that he had almost caught up to Soifon's level of expertise. His rapid growth surprised Yoruichi, but Urahara contributed to having all those aspects within his soul.

Ichigo himself was wondering when he would get to leave the infernal cavern he had been in for months according to the others. They thought they were working him to the bone with the training. But after they all left he would work on both his Quincy abilities and hollow powers. Neither spirit was as impressed as his coaches.

He manifested which ever spirit was training him at the time. Currently he was working on his Quincy abilities.

'_Why do you insist on drawing power from within?'_

"Old Man, I can't just stop drawing power from inside of me!"

_'If you just created a simple bow we could move on to the utilitarian aspects of the Quincy abilities." _

"Well I am trying my hardest. The bow just won't form right!"

'_If you cannot do it than you can give up on any Quincy abilities. Maybe you will have to try differently.'_

Ichigo was beginning to hate Zangetsu's teaching methods. He told Ichigo the basics and hasn't stopped judging his lack of progress in that aspect. Ichigo knew he deserved it after all he formed a rod of spirit energy, really a holly arrow that was supposed to be his bow. This time however he tried creating a vacuum within himself and felt something different. He had tried this many times over the last few months but now he felt like he did when he was stuck in that cage between Heco Mundo and Soul Society. He felt the rush of the particles. His bow was too big, but it was a bow.

'_Well done Ichigo. When we next train I will teach you control over the reaishi you draw in.'_

Zangetsu dissipated and Ichigo choose to sleep. The training he had been doing meant he would only get a real sleep every third day. A half night tonight would be a welcomed relief.

Ichigo looked over at the stack of books Urahara had given him. Because the three who were keeping him hidden were all very high ranking Soul Reapers they weren't constantly with him. Yes most days he spent training with them at different points of the day. Some days however he spent alone. On those days he would read through the books on Kido that Urahara had given him.

At this point using kido was still a challenge. In four months he had learned only the most rudimentary spells. At the rate he was learning kido it would take more than a 100 years to master a spell to counter whatever technique had sent him back in time. He wasn't have a problem creating some effect with the kido. He didn't have a problem with the power. He had a problem refining it. He could call it up, that was just like when they used the cannon ball to break into the Seireitei. He could push it into a specific direction; that was almost like using a Getsu. But he was just now learning any refined control over his reiatsu. It was difficult but he was making head way.

All day today he knew he would be training alone. He didn't want to work on anything that might incriminate him should another Soul Reaper walk in. In four months no one had, but he couldn't be too careful. So he picked up the book on basic defensive kidos. He was focusing on those and healing kidos for now. He was fairly certain he had enough attack power, soon he knew he would have enough defensive capabilities.

The book seemed dull in his hands. He couldn't stop thinking about what Yoruichi had said to him the second day he was hear.

_Flashback_

_ Ichigo was woken with a start. A very serious Yoruichi looking down at him._

_ "You know what Aizen is doing. I know Aizen is doing something. No one else knows that. Urahara is to focused on some research that I don't really care about. Soifon would try something before we had enough information."_

_ Yoruichi seemed to be looking right into his soul. He hadn't seen her like this often. It was strange, Yoruichi telling him not to let Urahara know something. _

_ "Why don't you want him to know?"_

_ "Well it comes down to the fact that I'm not sure he could look away from his research. He's obsessed with it."_

Later that night

**'Well Ichigo, you suck as a Quincy but you aren't too bad at the hollow techniques I'm beating into your head!" **Ichigo couldn't help but feel that Zangetsu was enjoying teaching him to turn his skin into a hierro and instantly regenerate a little too much. Zangetsu said that if he could just use hierro then he wouldn't be learning instant regeneration, but since Zangetsu was using himself and Ichigo couldn't use any blades he didn't think it was entirely truthful.

As ichigo dodged a strike going for his leg he began charging a cero. These he could do. These were just like the Getsu he had mastered ages ago. These didn't need any kind of refined control.

**'King you can't DODGE! That defeats the point of our training. The blade needs to hit you and either BOUNCE off or you need to HEAL. So just let me hit your leg, if it comes off you get to practice instant regeneration!'**

That settled it in Ichigo's mind. Zangetsu must be insane. What that meant for Ichigo he didn't know. But he couldn't dwell on it because Zangetsu then connected with his wrists. Ichigo had brought them up to stop himself from losing his head, but the fact that Zangetsu hadn't cut him was amazing. He didn't have time to really celebrate his success as Zangetsu moved his blade and struck his leg. It didn't bounce off but Ichigo knew it wasn't easy to cut.

**'Kingy, looks like you figured it out. Now I'ma take your leg off. Getsuga TENSHOU!'**

The wave of energy very effectively took his leg off. Ichigo felt it, it wasn't the first time Zangetsu demanded he regenerate something. Usually it was a chunk of flesh he managed to carve off. This time his whole leg was next to him. He couldn't feel the pain yet. He knew it was shock. He knew how to push the reiatsu into the wound to heal it. He felt everything reconstructing. It was strange. Forcing his body to heal. Healing kido would do the same thing just not as effectively.

The muscles reforming drained almost all of his impressive reiatsu. In battle it would be pointless to use it as a technique. He wouldn't have enough strength to fight after that. In the controlled setting he was in now it left him barely standing.

**'Well Ichigo, I'm impressed. Your connection to me is how you use hollow abilities. I didn't think you'd be able to regenerate your leg yet without using your bankai.'**

"You cut my leg off not thinking I'd be able to regenerate it." The color had gone from Ichigo's face. He was shocked. Never had Ichigo felt so angry at his blade.

Zangetsu cackled his crazy laugh. No malice in it this time just… a strange happiness. **'I knew you could just not without bankai. You're done for the day though. I'm out'**

With that Zangetsu dissipated. Ichigo was left alone in the cavern barely able to stand with a leg to dispose of. 'Damn Zangetsu went overboard.'

With that in mind he started moving some of the smaller rocks to hide his leg.

It was still early in the night, so Ichigo decided to study the books on kido. Every attempt he made had a little success. That didn't mean they were complete and able to actually defend against anything substantial, but they were there.

Ichigo wasn't the best student. He would admit that. He was studious though. He knew how to study, and he knew when he shouldn't study. When the words started floating around on the pages he knew he should put the book down. He knew there was no way he was actually learning anything. Something kept him from putting it down though. He wasn't even trying to learn, but he felt as though he needed to at least seem alert.

The man watching him had seen enough. He definitely had the full range of powers of both hollows and Quincy. He could only use them with his shikai. From what he'd heard tonight they would get stronger if he released his bankai. The level of power this kid had produced so easily was definitely what he meant to do with hollowification. Now he knew the secret. The way to create the balance was add Quincy to the mix.

The next morning he awoke with a start, rolling away from an attack aimed where his sleeping form had just been. "Good morning to you too Soifon."

For her part she was fairly unconcerned her attack didn't land. Over the last two years she had learned he couldn't be snuck up on if he was asleep. An amazing talent in her mind. To be sure, it is impressive, but it was something Ichigo was trained on since he was very young. Soifon had no idea however, because although she had gained respect for him, she didn't trust him. It wasn't a distrust, in fact she was more open with him than anyone other than Yoruichi, but in her mind he was still something to wary of.

"I almost got you that time. You're far too slow." Her eyes gleamed with a dangerous light. She enjoyed their sparring. He was the best sparring partner she had besides Lady Yoruichi herself. She couldn't let him know that though, it might have gone to his head. "Now put on the gloves Lady Yoruichi got you."

Ichigo flashed over to his pile of things. The gloves she referred to were an invention of Urahara's much like Kenpachi's eye patch. They reduced his reaitsu to Soifon's level. That made it so he could actually learn the techniques without relying on his overwhelming power.

When he put the second glove on she attacked ruthlessly and relentlessly. With his powers reduced he was hard pressed to keep up. The finer aspects of the techniques escaping him. With every blow he got better, the problem was that Soifon was getting much better as well. While Ichigo just worked on Hakudo with her, she was training in it night and day. Her only breaks came when she was undergoing bankai training.

Ichigo spent two years like this. He would train relentlessly. Yoruichi constantly said if he reached Soifon's level she would find a place for him outside of the cavern. Ichigo hated staying in and being useless. Soul Society was in a time of peace, but it didn't matter. Ichigo wanted to do something, anything, but he wasn't able to. If he left before Yoruichi had a place for him in either her squad or Urahara's he would draw way to much attention. Constantly in the cavern living with the fear that he would be caught. Yoruichi had him dye his hair. It irked him to have to, but he also grew it out.

He knew no one could recognize him. He wasn't even born yet. When he was born he didn't want people to make a connection between him and the younger him. If they did it could ruin his life. Thankfully he could mitigate the chances of that with some basic ascetic changes. His hair was huge, but he also took to wearing tighter pants, and he now wore a top with the arms and sides ripped out. The only reason for this was because of the way his reiatsu exploded outward when using hakuda. It didn't explode outward the way he had seen Yoruichi's in the future. But it was something. He wrapped bandages around the exposed skin. Yoruichi also started making him where a mask.

Ichigo was sitting on a rock waiting for whoever would be coming in to train with him today. He knew right when Yoruichi entered. He felt her approach. After two years of constant, nonstop training. The only thing that still gave him trouble were some of his Quincy abilities and his kido. His sensory perception had been trained to a razors edge. That's why when Yoruichi landed on his shoulders he wasn't surprised. Her cat form did surprise him.

"Well Ichigo, I think it's time for you to leave the cavern. I have an opening at my estate."

"So that means I'm at Soifon's level?" Ichigo didn't feel that was true. Soifon seemed to still be more skilled. It was possible they were closer than Ichigo thought, but he knew they weren't on the same level at hakudo.

"No but I'm not making you a body guard as originally planned. I have an opening as a gardener."

"Are you stupid? I don't know how to garden!"

"Irrelevant. Gardeners to the Shihouin clan don't need to be good gardeners."

"Then what do they actually do?" Ichigo was confused about the whole thing. Why wouldn't gardeners need to know how to garden?

"You're quite dense. For noble families gardeners are guards that hide in plain sight. You will be doing some gardening but your main job will be to patrol the grounds."

"Fine then, when and where do I need to go?"

"Just follow me." Ichigo turned to follow the cat out, but he found Yoruichi had changed forms just after getting past him.

"Cloths lady! You forgot cloths again!" Over the last two years it wasn't uncommon for Yoruichi to tease Ichigo like this. She found his innocence amusing and couldn't get over the fact that Ichigo had seen her naked more times than either of them really knew at this point and yet couldn't not be embarrassed by it. It was endearing. Soifon, who had seen some of these encounters was just as embarrassed by seeing her idol nude as Ichigo, always threated Ichigo as if it was his fault Yoruichi kept getting naked.

"Ichigo, why do you peek if I just transformed. You pervert."

"I had no idea you transformed!" Ichigo hated these encounters with Yoruichi. He knew she meant nothing by it, but he still had a goal to avoid the physical temptations without a serious emotional connection.

Her laughter floated over to his ears. He had to admit over the last few years they had grown closer. He'd told her as much as he knew about her future. With the others he had refused no matter how hard they tried to pry it out of him. But Yoruichi had spent actual time with him as more than a teacher. She spent time with him as a friend. In this time Ichigo knew he would draw attention to himself but she had worked with him to minimize that. She made sure he would have a job to minimize questions and the tools to keep his massive power under wraps. It meant a lot to him that she would help him like this.

For her part all she could say was that Ichigo had confirmed her suspicions at first, which forced her to concede some trust to him. However, over the years she had genuinely come to like the boy who dropped into her life quite unexpectedly. He trusted her; that much was obvious. According to him she was a teacher and confidant in the future. It made sense that the trust he showed her came fairly easily. The way she trusted him did not. Her best friend was Kisuke Urahara, a man who has always been good to her. Recently he had become obsessed with hollowification. She knew that he wouldn't take it too far but that side of him scared her.

That didn't matter now. What did matter was taking him to the manor. Once he was there he would have some degree of freedom. He would be training mostly on his own, but the tradeoff would be worth it. Recently certain parties, namely the Head Captain, wanted to know more about what she does all the time. He was concerned that the Onmitsukido was starting to move against the wishes of the court guard. Her loyalty was being called in to question.

This was the reason she needed someone she could trust at her home. She wasn't there often but it held the secrets of her clan. Secrets that people like Aizen would love to have.

"Ichigo I need you to put your gloves and this cloak on." She threw him a cloak with the symbol of her clan on the back. Other than that it was just like the ones Renji and Rukia had worn into Hueco Mundo.

"You want to hide me completely?"

"Yes. Very few people know exactly how to get there. We can't have them following us."

Ichigo dawned the cloak and they were off. As fast as Ichigo was, it was still difficult to keep up with Yoruichi without his shikai. He could tell that they weren't on a direct path. He was going to ask her about this later. He wasn't sure exactly why she was being so couscous. She had told him a little, just enough that he knew the Head Captain wanted complete control over the Stealth Force and Kido Core. She had also mentioned that someone was managing to cast doubt on her actions. The slightest provocation would bring down the wrath of the head captain.

Yoruichi stopped at a sudden drop in the ground. When Ichigo stopped he noticed that it was a ravine. The manor lay on the other side on the ridge.

"Why did we stop so far away?"

With a heavy sigh, "Look at it, really look, and tell me why we stopped."

Ichigo really focused. At first when he sent his senses towards Yoruichi's home he felt nothing. He knew there had to be something there if there wasn't she wouldn't have told him to find it. Suddenly he felt it. The barrier around the ravine was casting an illusion. It wasn't going to stop anything but there was something just past the barrier. It felt almost like a garganta but it couldn't be that. It was a portal of something though.

"What does the portal lead to?"

"It leads to a world that you don't want to end up in."

"I didn't know that some people had access to the worlds beyond the three we travel to all the time."

"Before Kisuke started the department of research and development soul reapers had to be everywhere to know where hollows where. The Onmitsukido where the ones to do that. We explored a few other worlds in the process."

"How do we get around it?"

"The point is no one being able to get around it. That portal is designed to guard the secrets of my clan and the Onmitsukido. If you try to go around it will shift to meet you."

"Okay then how do we get there?" At this point he was getting fed up with her not just telling him. He didn't know why there had to be so much run around just to get the answer.

"What I'm about to show you is a secret only the Onmitsukido knows about. The way to get to that manor is a portal much like most humans would call a wormhole." Yoruichi glanced at him, her face was the picture of calm danger. It imparted the knowledge that if he told anyone about this technique she would end him.

"Okay, so how do we open it?"

With a sly grin Yoruichi took out a small jewel and dropped it. It didn't fall, it floated. Yoruichi looked over her shoulder at him with a full smile brimming on her face. "Watch and learn, I'm only going to show you once. After this you'll have to do it on your own if need be." The look on her face returned to serious as she put her hands around it. "Open burakkuhoru wapu supesu." As soon as the last word left her lips the jewel expanded into a hole. When Ichigo looked into it he felt it was inescapable, that if he stepped in he would never be able to step out. "Kyoka suru homu."

The portal lightened and seemed to extend without extending. It wasn't something Ichigo knew how to describe. It didn't seem so deadly, it seemed more like a passage. It still didn't feel safe.

"Yoruichi is that really stable?"

"Ahh… I'm glad you picked up on that. No." with that she walked through. Immediently it started to close up. Ichigo rushed in to avoid being trapped.

"See you made it out alive." Yoruichi called down to ichigo from her perch in a tree. It wasn't just a tree though. It was massive. Bigger than anything Ichigo had ever seen in his life. Its leaves were red and broad. "You like? It's the grandest tree in the soul society. This lace leaf maple is almost 5,000 years old. My clan has used it to train hakudo for generations. The wood from the branches and cloth from the leaf fibers makes all our most powerful artifacts we have."

Ichigo studied the tree. Its roots were massive, they were surrounded be shale stone layer over the dirt. There were no other plants in the court yard.

"I take it you need me to protect this?" He gave her an incredulous look. "What about the portal around this place?"

"Ichigo, if what you say is true and I am banished then that portal might collapse. If that happens I need you to stop anyone who comes here. If someone were to get their hands on this tree they could form a jewel like the one I showed you."

"Why would that matter?"

"Ichigo that jewel can reach the Soul King's palace if someone had enough spiritual power."

Suddenly Ichigo understood that this may be the most important thing he could do if that barrier fell. "So you said that you can use this tree to train."

Yoruichi smiled like the Cheshire Cat, "I'll show you how."


	6. Chapter 6

So I'd just like to clarify, in this fic Ichigo may become way OP. The nature of the story is not fighting. It is just some drabble revolving around Ichigo on his quest to be able to protect everyone. With that said, enjoy.

Kisuke was hard at work in his lab. Thanks to his research assistant, Mayuri, he had obtained all the aspects of a Quincy's power. From watching that kid train he knew this was the key. Every day he was coming closer to completing the hollowification. All his observations proved to him that the zanpakuto was the thing he needed to hollowfy. It was proving difficult and he saw evidence in some hollows of someone trying to make them more like soul reapers. Taking the opposite approach but the work was admirable.

"Damn, another failure. Mayuri, do you have any more of the Quincy arrow extract?"

"No, the subject we happened to obtain it from died as well."

"Then you better go collect another Quincy."

Kisuke hated that he had to keep collecting Quincy. It was really a pain. All they ever did was bemoan their fate. They didn't understand how important this research is. They didn't understand that this could restructure the whole universe and all the laws that govern it. Some day they might. Some day they might all understand the true implications of the work he was doing here.

….

Ichigo had seen Yoruichi go into the branches. He had heard her say that when you travel through them the tree forces you to master hakudo or die. She also said that the tree might send him to another world and then call him back. In his short life he had seen things most couldn't imagine. He had reached a level of power no one in the universe could match him. This tree scared him. It radiated a sense of eternity in a way even death did not. He knew that in worlds unexplored there were things that could fight on par with him. No one had said this, but that's what he felt from the tree. He was powerful, this tree was eternal.

Before he was going to actually train in the branches he was supposed to meditate in between the roots. Yoruichi said that he would know when the time came to go up. He hoped she was right.

As he sat at the tree's base he could feel the tension from the spirits in his blades. When he actually started to meditate he started to have a vision unlike any other he'd ever had before. It felt like he was falling into his inner world, but the world around him was chaos. There would be no other way to describe it. The sky was red, the ground was rolling and fire was spewing forth from a hole in the ground. The flames were white and spiraled upwards, hotter than anything he'd ever felt. They gave off more heat than even Yamamoto's bankai. There was staff made of a wood that gave of a sense of power just like the tree he knew was really behind him. The flame and power however was coming from a ring. It was a pure white.

Suddenly it was dark. "Boy, I am the creator and master of the world you just saw. The tree you are at now is in every world and universe. It is the one tree." The disembodied voice held such power that Ichigo knew then he could stand no chance against such a being. If the Soul King was anything like this being than Ichigo could not understand why he would need a protector.

"Beings such as me cannot lift our hands in our own creations. It would be wrong. We can be banished from our creations. I was once by a being known as Lord Foul." The pain in the voice was evident. "That is why humans are of such importance. You small trivial things can take on more power than any other being. What you bore witness to was a man I called forth to defeat Foul. Using the chaos magic of white gold and a staff from one of the incarnations of the one tree, he will break the arch of time, destroy Foul, and I will be able to repair it all." The voice gave a sense of pleasure with that thought.

"What does that have to do with me?"

The voice thundered off laughter, "Just as I must repair a broken world so must the Soul King. In your battle you must know things will be destroyed. Things that a creator like myself can easily fix."

Ichigo felt like he was spiraling down again. It stopped and everything was different again, he was in a noisy polluted city standing in a vacant lot. But that's all he could take in because the rose sitting in the middle was beautiful. He understood then that this was also the tree. As he came to that realization the rose seemed to bloom and show him the universe. Not the universe he was in but all the universes, all the worlds. He knew then that there was one at the center, and one point at the center of that. It stood as a tower darker than anything Ichigo had ever seen. He knew then that certain things could not be destroyed. He was an ant before the gods. The ones who planted the seeds of the roses and trees that were portals to all the worlds and the ones who built that tower.

He had never felt so insignificant. His world and all the worlds he visited were so much less than the totality of everything. This tree was just one thing connecting the worlds he knew to all the others. There were beings of such power, places of such magnitude, that no matter how powerful he became he wouldn't be able to even scratch them.

Every spun around him. It blurred and melded together. When it stopped he was standing in by another vacant lot in what was obviously a small town. Ichigo could see a mist coming closer. He could feel dark terrible things hidden in the mist.

"This is what happens when a creator interferes too directly. Ichigo, look forward. Do not turn back. In this world because of the broken nature of I can come with all my power. However, so can they. This is the reason you can't let the tree be broken or me expunged. Those things would trample the worlds you love."

Ichigo caught glimpses of monsters that were hollow like, but these things were obviously never human. They struck even Ichigo with paralyzing fear. The things started to let out sounds more horrendous than anything any human had ever imagined.

"Who are you? What are they?" Ichigo would never stop moving forward from fear, not anymore. Zangetsu would always be there even when he failed to help him move forward. But these beings struck fear in his heart in such a primal way. When Ichigo reached his conscious to Zangetsu he felt their fear of them. They were ready to fight, but even the spirits of his blades had no hope of winning in their hearts.

"Ichigo, you know me as the Soul King. My real name would kill you, just as a glimpse of my true form would." The mist was so close now. The beings hadn't attacked them yet but when the mist engulfed them Ichigo felt they would be ripping into him. "The beings and mist come from the void. They are made to break worlds when the beings on them either trifle in the areas of gods, or gods meddle with mortals."

"This would come to our world if you or the tree are destroyed." It wasn't a question. It was something Ichigo knew deep in his heart.

"There are other ways for them to come." Ichigo felt something in the voice. It was a gravity in the words that hadn't been there before. "If someone became too strong they could break the constructs keeping these creatures out. But should that happen person could fix those constructs as well."

"I shouldn't become powerful if it will destroy the world."

"You wouldn't break it without fixing it. Watch for the one who would try to change it."

The mist was about to swallow them. Ichigo had his hands on his swords with the name of his blades ready in his lips. The first creature lunged in attack. It was like a giant spider with eyes all over its body and 16 legs. It was more putrid then hollows of the same nature. Ichigo drew his swords.

"Fight through fear, Zangetsu!" Just as the blades transformed and were about to meet the skin of the thing flying at him, the world spun. It spun for what felt like hours the scenery was something he could make out. It wasn't something he recognized but he did know that it was different versions of many worlds. All that were connected by the tree, that the tree was old and immensely powerful. Its power was useless against someone who tried to destroy it though. It could never defend itself.

The world solidified. What he saw before him was the Soul King in the form he had taken in the Royal Realm. He was addressing five men.

"You five shall be considered nobility. Your families will be considered nobility. I will grant you and your descendants more power than most. In return, your houses will carry out certain tasks for me. Shihoin, you shall take these artifacts and defend against traitors. Watch from the shadows and be true. Go forth and lead those who will follow in my name." With the dismissal the first of the five simply vanished.

"Kuchiki, to you I give peace. You will guard the laws of the government and the universe. Never let them be broken. Never allow them to be corrupted, and always follow the spirit for many laws which your clan must uphold are not written. Let the serenity guide you and go forth and lead those who will follow in my name." Ichigo saw now that the men were not vanishing, they were being sent away by the Soul King using his reaitsu to transport them.

"Shiba, to you I give the gift of elements. You must guard their balance and protect even the skies. You must also protect all the greatest feats of nature over the universe. See what is before you, and never let it fall. Now go forth and lead those who will follow in my name." Ichigo knew that his ancestor had just had a vision of the tree. He didn't know how he knew but he knew that he had.

"Uchiha, to you I grant these scolls. In it the history of the Seireitei will reside. I ask you to guard all knowledge from tampering. To enlighten all who seek wisdom. Go forth and lead those who will follow in my name."

"Tachibana, I bestow upon you these to you I give responsibility over watching the courts. Be true to the practices and enforce the rules governing the 46 law makers. Ensure laws are not broken when they are made. Now go forth and lead those who will follow." With that said all the men were gone. And Ichigo fell back.

….

Ichigo came awake under the tree. It was dark out. His visions fresh in mind he went into his inner world to speak with Zangetsu. As he slipped into it he immediately noticed a change. The city that once was only a concrete jungle had a large park in it. If Ichigo had ever been to New York he would have seen something reminiscent of Central Park. Zangetsu was looking at him but it wasn't the Zangetsu Ichigo knew. He looked older, almost by a whole decade. His face had a beard that just looked so wrong on him.

**"Nice to see you again, Kingy."**

"What happened to you Zangetsu?"

_"The tree aged you and therefor it aged him. He is after all your reflection."_

Old man Zangetsu hadn't changed at all. Though his face looked more haggard.

"The tree did that to you too?"

_"The force of your core strengths has done this to me."_

**"When you saw the marking of the noble houses you understood didn't you?"**

"I got it. You told me my powers were water. The Soul King gave the Shiba clan powers over elements."

Old Man Zangetsu looked away.

**"You actually have to aspects of it. The rain expresses your sorrow and can diffuse long range attacks. The water on the ground can increase your speed and make it hazardous to your enemies if they try to move at full speed."**

_"I'm sorry Ichigo that I kept this from you as well. You must understand though, your rain can make a Quincy's power fall greatly."_

"So I can use this to weaken a Quincy?"

_"I'm sorry but this is hard to say…. It would weaken you as much as it would strengthen you." _Old Man Zangetsu looked into his eyes with a look of determination. _"Your getsuga tenshou would be dispersed, you wouldn't be able to draw in any reishi, and any cero would be dispersed. You wouldn't be able to use any Quincy defensive techniques or hierro."_

**"It's a double edged sword, king. It could help in some ways, but it might get you killed."**

"So how long were we going through the visions?"

_ "We don't know."_

**"The thing is, King, was the immensity of everything. That strained your mind and your body to the point in the terms of your soul you aged over 150 years."**

**…**

Yoruichi could see that Ichigo had changed positions. She couldn't describe how much that meant to her. For years before he had started his meditation they had been closer than she had ever been with anyone. Kisuke was close before he started his research, but Ichigo was more to her than just a friend. Though she doubted he felt the same.

Ichigo opened his eyes to see Yoruichi before him. 'Weird she isn't supposed to be here for at least two weeks. Was I out that long?'

"What are you doing here so soon?"

Yoruichi beamed at hearing his voice. She jumped at him and wrapped him up in a tight hug. "Waiting for you to wake up." The look of content bliss on her face made Ichigo consider his next words wisely. He felt strongly for Yoruichi. She was the only one who ever seemed to care for his wellbeing now. His only friend and maybe someday she would be something more.

"Well I hope I haven't been out of it too long. If you're here that means it has been over two weeks."

Yoruichi had a sad glint in her eyes, "It's been almost five years."

The news floored Ichigo. He hadn't expected anything like that. The visions had felt like they had only taken minutes. "That… That can't be."

Yoruichi placed her hand on his face. She directed his face towards hers, instantly bringing his attention to her. "It was. I don't know what you saw, I don't want to. It must have been something terrifying and amazing. I don't envy you, but I hope you know that I'm here for you. I always will be."

Yoruichi was looking directly into his eyes. The way they sat she had to incline her head sharply to do it, but it accentuated how close they were. It gave her a feeling of closeness she had experienced few times in her life. She could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

"Thank you," his breath came hoarse and shallow, "Yoruichi."

As quickly as she had hugged him, she removed herself. "I need to be going, but I'll be back soon."

That's when they felt it, a disturbance in the air. Reaitsu that was neither a hollow or soul reaper. Yoruichi wanted to run towards it. Ichigo wanted to as well but he knew the reaitsu that was out of control. It was the Visards and this must have been the night of their creation.

"Don't," Yoruichi looked at him disbelieving what he just said, "this is the night Aizen creates the Visards. You need to be at a Captains meeting and then you need to help them escape."

So everyone, I know this might be hard to follow. If you don't get the references read the Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. Also the Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever Series. Any questions can be sent to me by pm or review. I will try to answer them all.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys, sorry for the time it took to update. This whole chapter was hard to write.

Yoruichi knew she had to be at the captains meeting. She was on thin ice as far as the Head Captain was concerned and she couldn't be suspicious now, or she would probably be hunted down by the Yamamoto.

"I'm going with you. I'm faster and can get us there in time and then to the scene."

"If they catch onto you…"

A look from Ichigo quieted her protest. "They won't I'm a guard assigned by the elders as far as they know, _Princess_."

"Ha, fine then let's go." Yuroichi opened a portal to her home.

As they stepped through Soifon made her presence known. "Lady Yoruichi, what's going on?"

Yoruichi knew this would be the last time she saw Soifon for a long time. She knew it had to be done. Her student whom she had watched grow and blossom. The sadness in her heart almost stopped her from helping her childhood friends. They were strong and Soifon was still growing. However, she couldn't abandon her oldest friends. Well she probably could, but she wouldn't. The Head Captain was looking to exile her either way, so she really only had one choice.

She moved behind her pupil and friend, "I'm sorry, remember that," she knocked her cold in one blow, "I will miss you."

"Let's go."

"Just… One second."

"Look forward. Go forward. Retreat and you will age. Hesitate and you will die."

"What?" The glare was immense, Yoruichi understood moving forward, but she felt the need to reconcile herself to this.

"We have to go. I understand you want to mourn the loss of this friendship, but if we don't get there soon we won't have the chance at all."

She brushed past him and disappeared in Shunpo. Ichigo followed behind.

When they arrived at the first division Ichigo went to wait and possibly watch if he had the opportunity. Ichigo ended up being able to hear every word sitting just outside one of the closed windows.

Inside the meeting the Head Captain knew there was someone just outside. It wasn't the feeling of reiatsu, though that was there just barely, no it was intuition. The bare feeling of reiatsu was familiar to him though. He had felt it before, just briefly before it left the Seireitei. He hadn't felt it sense but on a night like tonight he wasn't taking chances. He would incinerate the intruder after the meeting.

As the captains left the Head Captain traced that reiatsu. What he found surprised him, either it was following his Second Squad Captain, or it was working with her. He felt it would be the latter and he would kill them both if that was the case.

It brought no joy to his heart, just a grim satisfaction. He knew now that he was right. That new captain was probably working with her. He would have to die as well. If he was.

The Head Captain quickly caught up with the ones he had been tracking. Yoruichi may be the Queen of Shunpo, but he was the Commander of the Gotei 13 for a reason.

"STOP! EXPLAIN YOURSELVES NOW!"

"Run."

"What?" Yoruichi had no idea why he wanted them to run. They couldn't outrun Yamamoto.

"Boy, I am speaking to you two youngsters. Explain yourselves or I will punish you as I see fit."

"Princess run. The Head Captain wants blood. I swore I wouldn't let you get hurt, so run. I'll hold him off." As he said this he drew his swords and took up his battle stance. That's when the rain started to fall.

"Fine, just don't die." With that she was off.

"Boy I will kill you and then reduce her to ash."

Ichigo locked eyes with the Strongest Soul Reaper in the Gotei 13. He knew his Quincy and Hollow techniques were off limits. Those would cause the man before him to unleash his Shikia and that would be disastrous. The force of that would alert soul reapers for miles. It would be pointless to try to hide any powers.

"Not going to respond? To scared? That will be your downfall." Yamamoto implanted his cane in the ground and draped his hiori over top it. "I will crush you with these fists."

Yamamoto ran forward only to find Ichigo had moved behind him and was already slashing at his back. He could faintly here the call of a name he remembered well, Getsuga Tenshou. The technique to copy and counter a cero. He hadn't seen it in almost five hundred years. When it hit he was able to absorb most of it. It left a shallow cut, but overall it was a weak Getsu.

"If you know that technique you can't be as weak as you seem child. It's a shame you can't put more power into it."

Ichigo contemplated the Head Captain. He knew that it wouldn't seriously injure the man but he had hoped to at least slow him down.

His mind had wondered off, his instincts for fighting had dulled with being so much stronger than anyone he had come into contact with. This small fact was the main reason that the Head Captain was able to land a solid blow to his stomach. A disastrous event for Ichigo.

He reflexively used his Heirro. The blow hurt, a lot, but it didn't kill him. When he stood up the Head Captain had retrieved his zanpakuto. "If you survived that then I will kill you with my blade. I don't have the time to play around with you anymore."

"Then I suppose Zangetsu and I need to get serious about this." With that simple statement his blades morphed. That's when the rain started to fall.

"Do you think simply releasing your Zanpakuto could possibly match you with my power?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Yoruichi's too far away for you to catch. My job is done." Ichigo was turned to the side, his head tilted to the side looking at the Head Captain. "I just have to be faster than you."

"Boy, you cannot….. "

He never finished the statement for Ichigo had already disappeared.

Yoruichi had been moving at full speed knowing that Ichigo probably wouldn't catch up to her anytime soon. She had the hope he would find them before they left. She had not counted on him appearing next to her for a second, telling her to hold on and then speeding away faster than anything she could've imagined.

So when they arrived at the scene of the transformations she was already mind blown. The fact that a Vice-Captain was effortlessly deflecting kido from Tessai hit a numb shell. Yes, she should've been shocked but her mind was already in a state of shock.

When the attack dissipated she had finally come back to her senses. Together they rushed forward only to find that the group had already disappeared, presumably to Urahara's lab.

"Hold on tight." That was her only warning as Ichigo grabbed her and they moved at that insane speed again. This time she kept her head about her and realized at this speed he couldn't turn. It also became fairly apparent to her as they stopped that he needed a lot of time. There was no stopping on a dime. There may not be build up, but unless he was mowing through a huge group of enemies all lined up for him, it was a useless speed for battle.

The lab was the same as always, only Urahara was frantically looking for something when they came in.

"Where is it? Where could he have put it?!"

"Yo, Kisuke! What are you looking for?"

"Quick make a bow!"

Ichigo did as he was told. He knew the basics of the theory that Quicy power would stabilize them but when he actually saw it happen it slightly amazed him. They had started to fully hollowfy and Urahara's Hogyoku holding it back and stabilizing their temporary forms. With the addition of his Quincy power they were able to come back to themselves.

The four of them agreed on a course of action, Ichigo and Yoruichi would take the newly formed Visards to the training grounds and Urahara and Tessai would stand trial.

After a week spent with the three setting them up in the human world, Ichigo had had enough of Urahara bemoaning all his lost research. The Visards had finally agreed to undergo some training to control their hollows and master the powers they now have. It wasn't something Ichigo was looking forward to.

He walked through his home town, 80 some years until he would be born. Just over 100 years until he would be sent back. His father, Isshin, was a captain but would only be for 80 more years. It was a strange feeling knowing the future. It was stranger still that he didn't have his family or friends. Even when he reached the point he went back in time, he had changed too much. They were beyond him now.

He could never be who he once was. His training had reconciled his mind and soul. Even after just training with the royal guard he had gained control and stabilized his reiatsu. His sword spirits hated the seal, but until he was hidden away again it couldn't be helped.

His musings had kept him distracted as he reached the warehouse. At this point it had a barrier set by Urahara, Hachi was still blocked from his powers by his hollow. Hopefully that could be fixed today. Ichigo just had to help two of the Visards gain control of their hollows and then he could be on his way.

As he walked in the depressed manor of the Visards wouldn't have surprised him. The energetic sight he was met with did. They were all fighting amongst each other or something that looked like training.

_"This is going to take a while… They can't get along for five minutes without attacking each other."_

Ichigo walked into the warehouse and prepared for their training.

So guys, I hope you aren't too disappointed by the upload time. This chapter gave me troubles and… Well I got busy and lazy. Not a good combo for writing. So enjoy until next time!


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